The present invention relates to chewing gums having improved use of thaumatin, a high intensity sweetener and flavor enhancer, and their method of manufacture.
In order to reduce cariogenicity, many chewing gums employ sugar substitutes to provide sweetness and flavor. Sugar substitutes include high intensity sweeteners. High intensity sweeteners exhibit a greater sweetness than identical amounts of sucrose. High intensity sweeteners are known to be hundreds and sometimes thousands of times sweeter than sugar.
One such sweetener, thaumatin, is a proteinaceous substance obtained from the fruit of the tropic plant Thaumatococcus daniellii which grows in tropical Africa. Thaumatin is about two thousand to three thousand times sweeter than sucrose and is known to have a lingering sweet aftertaste.
Thaumatin, apart from its intense sweetness, is recognized as a high potency flavor and sweetness adjuvant capable of perpetuating sweetness and flavor in chewing gum compositions. See, for example, Vander Loo et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,412,984, and Burge et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,228,198.
In the past, thaumatin has been added to gum in a powder form or physically mixed or encapsulated to a powder form. Unfortunately, thaumatin has very specific handling problems associated with it. Thaumatin is a very light, fluffy material which can cause allergic reactions when atmospherically suspended in its powder state. However, the aforesaid handling problems do not exist when thaumatin is in an aqueous solution.
A method of adding thaumatin to chewing gum ingredients via an aqueous solution which provides the same long lasting sweetness effect on chewing gum as powdered thaumatin would thus constitute an advance in the art. Such a method would be readily accepted and enjoy commercial success.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide for a method of adding aqueous thaumatin to chewing gum, such a method providing for the same sweetness enhancing effect on chewing gum as does the addition of powdered thaumatin.
These and other objects will become apparent in light of the following specification. It is to be understood, however, that the above-mentioned objectives are not to be considered a limitation of the present invention, the scope of which is delineated in the appended claims.